DinnerRecipes

Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version

Chili is a favorite of ours and for some reason we don’t eat is as often as we would like. I’m not sure why to be honest but that just makes it even more tasty when we do since it’s been a while. Today I am sharing with you our Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version. I grew up with my grandpa always making chili in a huge pot on the stove and wanting to burn the roofs of our mouth off. My grandma would always get onto him for it so eventually he toned the fire chili down. I like to make our chili mild, which isn’t spicy at all.

The youngest nerdling (who will be 9 on 1/28) announced that she was a vegetarian a few months ago and we have been supporting her decision. This could be a phase or it could be for life, who knows, but in the meantime we are making sure that she still gets the protein and everything she would normally get from meat. It does make meal planning and cooking a bit of a hassle with an extra step or two or, ya know, we could just all convert to vegetarianism but I don’t see that happening anytime soon!

Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version

Below you will find our crock pot version of our chili with ground beef as well as the stove-top vegetarian version. I basically took a little from each ingredient of our ground beef chili (minus beef of course!) and dumped it in a small pot. I adjusted the amounts of our vegetarian version to make a full pot recipe for you. You could probably make it in a crock pot but I haven’t yet so not sure how it turns out.

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef (the leaner the beef, the less fat in the chili!)

2 envelopes of chili seasoning mix

3 – 10 oz. cans seasoned diced tomatoes with green chilies

2 – 15.5 oz cans dark red kidney beans

2 – 15.25 cans black beans

10 oz. water (I filled up one tomato can, swished, & dumped in crock pot)

Directions

Spray crock pot with a mist of non-stick cooking spray. Add all ingredients into the crock pot and stir. Slow cook High for 4 hours.

Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version


Vegetarian Chili (stove-top)

Ingredients

12 oz. package of Grillers Crumbles (veggie alternative to beef)

1 envelope of chili seasoning mix

1 – 10 oz. can seasoned diced tomatoes with chilies

1 – 15.5 oz. can dark red kidney beans

1 – 15.25 can black beans

10 oz. water (fill tomato can with water, swish, dump in crock pot)

Directions

Add everything together except Grillers Crumbles (or other veggie alternative to beef) in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in Grillers Crumbles and return to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes more.

Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version

Somehow I completely forgot to snap a pic of the veggie chili after adding the Grillers Crumbles and it’s too late now. It basically looks like ground beef but has a slightly different texture. It also tasted very much like ground beef in the chili! (I stole a few bites while cooking it.)

Enjoy!

 

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Jess Benoit

Jess is a homeschooling mama of 3, wife, gamer, Whovian, Nerd

2 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Chili + Vegetarian Version

  • suzanne

    Mmm, chili sounds good in this weather. I love crockpot meals.

    Reply
    • Crock pot meals are the best, except when you have to smell it all day. 🙂

      Reply

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